I don’t have experience with a lot of schools, but the ones DS applied to this year pretty clearly defined the pure merit scholarships from the merit with a need-based component. The pure merit ones were received even before we filed FAFSA at a couple of the schools. Basically, the scholarship came with the acceptance letter. For most, the only application required was the application to the school, with maybe a supplemental essay for a few. No financial info was asked for.